Happy 3-Year Anniversary to Mike McNew!

Here at Lockaway Storage, we know our success is due to our wonderful team. The care they give our renters is unparalleled and we want to highlight their milestones along the way. Below is an interview with San Antonio team member Mike McNew, who is celebrating his 3-year anniversary with Lockaway Storage this week.

Mike McNew is the Construction Project Manager for Lockaway Storage in San Antonio.

Peter: You’re basically the whole construction team for Lockaway. How did you get matched up with Lockaway Storage in the first place?

Mike: I was working on another job when I crossed paths with Don. This particular job had encountered a few unforeseen issues. Don saw how I handled these issues and expressed an interest in me joining Strat Prop. I was looking for a change, and I liked Don’s vision. He offered me a position, and we’ve been working collaboratively ever since.

Peter: That’s a great story. So, basically he came into a project you were kind of new to and saw that you were getting the job done and knew that he needed that kind of guy on his team?

Mike: You’re going to have to ask him how he saw it, haha.

Peter: Haha.

Mike: I certainly don’t want to put any words in his mouth, but I will tell you we did hit it off right away. I was very impressed with him and the way he basically just let me do things, let me do my job without too much interference. I just assured him that it would get done and we did it. I got everything straightened out and we finished it and he offered me the job.

Peter: How many projects have you done for Lockaway Storage now?

Mike: Let’s see. We have done Military. We did Loop 410 .Then we did Leon Valley over there. Then we’ve done numerous office remodels. I’m not sure how many general repairs I’ve done. Then we’ve got the Shaenfield project we’re just finishing up and the WW White project.

Peter: Dang, that’s a lot of work. Was it three years ago that you joined up?

Mike: Yeah, three years ago July 15th was my first day.

Peter: How time flies.

Mike: Yeah, no kidding.

Peter: You said earlier that Don gives you a lot of freedom and lets you run things your own way; that’s something I’ve heard from other team members at Lockaway Storage. Was that something that was true of your previous company or was that something new with Lockaway?

Lockaway Storage – Bandera, in Leon Valley, is one of the larger projects that Mike McNew has run.

Mike: No, no, no, not at all. Not at all. They were very controlling and, to be honest with you, self centered and, with Don, he expects you do your job and that’s what he hired you for and he’s supported me 100% on everything, every decision. Obviously the major ones I run past him, but if I tell him I’ve already made a decision or something’s already a done deal, he’s never once come back. I always look out for his best interest. I look out for the company’s best interest and I do stuff as if it were my own. I take this job very personal. First and foremost, Don is just a great person. He’s just a great individual.We talked the other day and I told him this was the best job I‘ve ever had. This was the best case scenario for a construction project manager. To be able to be in charge. I’m the project manager, the superintendent, the laborer, the backhoe operator, the skid track operator, the sweeper, I’m the cleaner, hahahaha.

Peter: You do it all. You’re running the whole thing.

Mike: I pick up trash, you know? I sweep up and then I approve 3-4 hundred thousand dollar withdrawals at the same time.

Peter: Whew, that’s the whole range of responsibilities right there. All the way from the bottom to the top.

Mike: From the bottom to the top, Pete. From the bottom to the top. From the lowest on the totem pole, the labor to the one who signs off on all the checks and all the approvals. And everything in between.

Peter: That’s wild.

Mike: Yeah, I know. I’ve had all these jobs before, but now I just never had to be all of the above, hahaha.

Peter: Hahaha. Yep, yep.

Mike: Anyways, yeah, it’s a good thing. It’s a real good thing.

Peter: Did you say that you live in the San Antonio area?

Mike: Yes.

Peter: Have you lived there for a while or are you new to the area?

Mike: Nope, nope, been here for seven years now.

Peter: What about San Antonio do you like?

Mike: Working with Don and Lockaway Storage, because I was getting ready to move.

Peter: So Lockaway Storage kept you in San Antonio?

Mike: Well, I was thinking of going back to Houston. I lived there for 15 years and I had been here for a couple years and I wasn’t crazy about the contractors I was working for, to be honest with you. Just extremely self centered. And I’ve had my own business before. I was just contemplating stuff and it seemed like it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I was actually doing our office remodel kind of in between jobs and that’s when the owner asked me to go out to Military and finish that one and that’s when I met Don and after he gave me that offer, I decided to stick around. I told my wife that we should stick around and see what happens with it. She’s a teacher and our daughters are 29 and 33, so they’re well on their way they have their Master’s Degrees, so they’re extremely astute.

Peter: Sounds like things have worked out pretty well then.

Mike: They worked out extremely well.

Peter: Good to hear.

Lockaway Storage – Military is another project run by Mike McNew.

Mike: Couldn’t have it any better to be honest with you.

Peter: You’re not always at work. Do you have any hobbies outside of work that you like to enjoy?

Mike: Yeah, I do. I enjoy golfing and I swim a lot. That’s about the only exercise I can do anymore.

Peter: I hear that’s about the best exercise you can get, because you’re working everything at once, right?

Mike: That’s about the only thing, like my left knee, my left shoulder, I’ve dislocated my shoulder three or four times playing baseball. I was a baseball player back in the day and actually played a little minor league ball.

Peter: Yep, yep. For sure. At the end of these I like to ask if there’s anyone at the company you think deserves a shout out for helping you out at some point. Is there anyone at Lockaway Storage or the home office who deserves a shoutout?

Mike: Don Clauson and Tristina Volesky.

Peter: I figured he was going to be the one based on what you said earlier.

Mike: Because I don’t really deal with the operations people. I just deal directly with Don and Tristina Volesky. Tristina is fantastic. Those are the only two people I deal with. I don’t really deal with operations, unless I’m scheduling repairs. Yep, Don and Tristina are fantastic. The three of us make up the construction team. Each of us has a specific role in our project’s success. I’m grateful for reliable and dependable coworkers like these two.